Friendly Ties
by BanbieBunny
Summary: Mayl has been beaten up, and it's up to Lan to protect her. But why is Dex acting so strange? Lan feels he needs to find out before Dex makes another assault! (FINISHED) Please Read and Review!
1. Missing Mayl

Friendly Ties

Hi everybody! It's the bro. of Banbie Bunny back with a new story! This story is more or less based on Lan and Mayl. Megaman and Roll don't make that much of an appearance. But I think you'll like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lan or Mayl, Dex, Yai, Megaman, Roll, or Ms. Mari.

This _might _be something of a root to another story. But then again, it might **not!** So don't get your hopes up too high!

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"Lan! It's time to wake up!" Lan groaned and rolled over in his sleep. "Come on Lan!" Megaman yelled again. Lan opened one eye and saw Megaman in his PET. "Alright, I'm awake." he said sleepily and he got up. He looked at his clock "Hey, wait a minute..." he said rubbing his eyes "This isn't when I wake up!" Megaman smiled "It's when your supposed to get up, not when you usually want to get up."

Lan nodded and got dressed "I know your right." he said "Well, at least I'll be on time." He smiled when he thought of waiting for Mayl and telling her she was late. It had always been him to be late. Every morning when he left for school, Mayl always was waiting for him and would give him a lecture. "Well, it'll be different this time!" he thought.

He grabbed Megaman and went downstairs. He saw his Mom walking around with squinted eyes. "Hi Mom!" he said cheerily. Mom jumped at the sound of his voice. She was still in her pajamas and was walking around blindly. "Lan... your not up this early, are you?" she asked in a sleepy tone. "Could you show me to the coffee maker dear?" Lan looked at her oddly "It's there on the counter, can't you see?" he asked. "Not till I've had my coffee... I can't do a thing till I've had my coffee." He led her to the counter and go out a cup.

He picked up the pot, but it was hot so he dropped it. "Hurry Lan..." said his Mom "I'm going as fast as I can!" said Lan and went to get a pot-holder. He put the pot-holder on the coffee handle and poured his Mom a cup. She took it and drank the entire thing in one big gulp. An amazing transformation wafted over her. Her eyes were opened, she got up and walked about the kitchen busily getting breakfast ready, her hair even looked better.

"Thanks dear, I'll get breakfast ready." she said and was instantly a working machine. Lan shook his head in amazement. "A little coffee goes a long way!" remarked Megaman. "Won't it be great!" said Megaman "We'll be waiting for Mayl if we hurry!" Lan scoffed down some toast "Mmm.. good." he mumbled "What did you say Mega? Oh yeah, it will." Then a beeping noise sounded.

"Someone's trying to access your homepage Lan!" said Megaman, he got his buster ready and aimed it at the entry portal. Then Roll stepped through "You may be right Megaman." said Roll. Then she backed away "Is something wrong Mega?" she asked when she saw his buster. Megaman, who finally realized it was just Roll put his buster away looking rather ashamed.

"Sorry Roll, I didn't know." Lan saw this and remarked "After all, why would you ever lift a finger against Roll?" Megaman looked heatedly up at him. Lan quickly turned around and scarfed some corn flakes. Megaman looked at Roll "Why are you here Roll?" he asked "And what did you mean, we might be right?"

Roll sighed and looked rather worried "She can't go to school today, that's all I know." Lan groaned. He had hoped to suprise Mayl this morning, but it didn't work out. "Well that's too bad. Can you give her a message?" Roll nodded "Yes, but I don't know when she'll read it." she seemed to get more nervous. "She hasn't spoken to me all morning." Lan looked concerned "Is something wrong, is she sick?" "I don't know!" Roll burst out finally losing control and crying slightly. Megaman was a little suprised, he didn't know she was that close to Mayl.

"Aawww..." said Megaman "Don't cry, it can't be as bad as all that." She nodded and recomposed herself "Well... sniff..I should control myself. See you later Megaman, Lan." "See ya!" said Megaman and Lan. Lan finally finished his breakfast and picked up his PET. "Let's go Megaman!"

He walked out the door and started his usual walk to school. "How strange..." he thought "Everything seems strangely quiet." it was odd. Whenever Mayl walked with him to school, there was always something to listen to. He remembered one time when he asked "Why do we always have to walk to school?" Mayl had answered with "We always have so much to talk about!"

Lan knew now. She always had something to talk about. No wonder why it was so quiet, she must have talked a lot, not that he ever noticed. He got to the school gates and walked through along with a lot of other kids. He didn't know any of them, partly because they were in different class rooms, and also because nobody ever saw him there at that time.

He made his way to the class room and found that he arrived on time for once. Dex saw him and looked suprised. "Hey little doofus!" he said. Lan took that as a greeting, not an insult. He was known to Dex as that and knew no hurt was intended.

"What are you doing here?" Dex was a black kid. He was suprisingly tall considering how fat he was. He was sometimes a jerk and didn't seem to hold that much intelligence either, but he was O.K. he was Lan's trusty side-kick.

"This happens to be my classroom," said Lan. He couldn't help feeling a little smug. "Hey, ya wanna net battle?" asked Dex. Then the bell sounded and the rest of the class filed in. "Rats." he said "Maybe later." said Lan.


	2. Megaman vs Gutsman!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all.

By the way, for the review from Spork-Queen. I didn't know Dex wasn't black. I haven't seen the TV series yet. He just looks that way in the video games. Well, I'll try to space out the dialogue more. Thanks for the review!

Also

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School passed by smoothly. None of the studying was too hard. Everyone went to the playground afterwards. It was old fashioned, it had a swings and slides, none of them ran with any computer programs. It had seesaws and a tire swing and a large monkey bars.

Lan met Dex right after the bell rang for recess. They sat near the monkey bars and they both initiated battle routine. Lan took out his PET and hooked it up with Dex's. He loaded his chips including a new chip he had recently acquired. "Ready to be defeated?" asked Dex with a wily smile. He got out his chips. "Aren't those the same chips you had three weeks ago?" asked Lan with a confused look.

Dex's smile suddenly turned to a very nasty scowl and he pointed a finger in his face. "Mind your own business!" he growled. Lan drew back slightly from Dex's finger "Okay! okay!" he said "No need to get all upset. Megaman, battle routine set!" Megaman said "Execute!" and the battle ensued.

Lan inserted a sword chip and Megaman was instantly armed with a large cybernetic sword. Dex loaded a cross-gun chip. Megaman first fired a round of regular shots while dodging Gutsman's shockwave. Gutsman smashed three horizontal tiles and turned them to collapsible plates. Megaman dodged out of the way of another shockwave, but ended up on his weakened squares. He quickly jumped off them as they crumbled away from underneath him.

Gutsman saw this, and he jumped forward and fired his cross gun. The aim looked sure, but somehow Megaman managed to dodge it. "Rats!" said Dex irritably. Megaman ran forward before Gutsman had a chance to retreat and slashed him with his sword. Gutsman doubled backward and groaned. Lan smiled in satisfaction "Gotcha there Dex, battle chip-in!" he loaded an M-Cannon chip. Dex loaded a long sword into his PET.

"I'll get you this time Megaman!" said Gutsman wielding his long sword. Megaman smiled confidently and lifted his M-Cannon. "Maybe, but not today!" Megaman's squares were healed and he had plenty of room to move about. He fired his buster numerous times and hit Gutsman several times, weakening his HP. Gutsman roared and leapt forward and slashed with his sword. Megaman neatly side-stepped his attack and shot Gutsman with his M-Cannon. Gutsman was logged out.

Lan and Megaman cheered "Alright!" said Lan. Megaman blew the top of his buster proudly "I like winning!" he said with a big smile.

"Sorry Dex." said Gutsman. Dex put his PET away. "It's O.K. it wasn't your fault."

Lan put his PET away and stood up. "Well, good fight Dex, let's go eat lunch."

"Let's NOT!" said Dex angrily. Lan was taken aback, Dex was never this hostile when losing a battle "I'm warning you Lan, stay away from me!" he stomped off fuming angrily.

Lan looked rather hurt. Dex was acting very nasty. Sure he acted annoyed when he lost, but he never acted so mean. He went to go and eat his lunch and think about what had happened.


	3. Shocking News

Disclaimer: I don't own anything concerning Megaman Battle Network.

By the way, I've noticed that some stories say to not give flame reviews. I know what a flame is, and I don't care if you give one just so long as you don't use improper language.

I'm not saying this in regard to Maddy Lake Deep. That has something to do with a different story of my sister's, not mine.

Just so you know. This whole story is ready for posting. It's rather short, but I hope you like it. Please if your reading this, review if you would. I want to be able to edit out this story if possible, so I could use a few critics. Or just plain reviews for that matter.

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Lan sat on a bench and took out his lunch. It was a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich and a banana. The typical lunch for a school going kid. He bit into the sandwich and suddenly winced. His Mom forgot to put the jelly in.

"Still..." he thought "It's better than nothing." he chewed on the sticky gluey bread. She didn't even remember his milk!

"Excuse moi?" Lan turned and saw Yai standing near the bench. "Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked.

Yai was a very short blond haired girl. She seemed to most people like a spoiled little rich brat. She was often annoying because she sometimes spoke French so you couldn't understand what she was saying. She also was an extreme stickler for rules and how you treated a lady. Particularly herself.

"Naw, I don't mind." said Lan with a throat full of dry peanut butter.

Yai got out her lunch. First, she got out a napkin and placed it on her lap. She got out an eating tray out of what looked like a luggage. She got out a plate some silver-ware and a cup. She got out a pizza kit and a thermos of milk. She arranged everything in the neatest way.

Lan shook his head in a slightly annoyed way. "Can't you just eat like a normal human being?" he asked, his voice sounding rather blocked by his sandwich.

Yai looked at him disapprovingly look. "This is the way a normal person should eat." she said and then remarked "Do you have a frog in your throat?" Lan indicated his sandwich "No jelly." he mumbled. She snorted and handed him some milk from her thermos.

Lan gulped down the milk and sighed "Aaahhh... thanks a bunch." He peeled open his banana and took a bite.

"Yai, do you know why Mayl couldn't make it to school today?" Yai took a bite of her pizza

"I'm suprised you don't know!" she said after she had swallowed.

"Well, I did have to stay in at recess for extra work." he said.

She looked sternly at him "Extra work? Along with homework I should imagine, naughty naughty Lan!" Lan looked sheepishly and was about to take the last bite of his banana.

"Is she sick or something?" he asked. Yai shook her head "No, she isn't sick, I wouldn't be suprised if she was though." Lan shoved the last of his banana in his mouth. "Really? Well that's good."

"She was beaten up by Dex." she said. Lan almost convulsed as the whole banana disappeared down his throat, peel and all. "Cough ?" he asked in a scratchy voice.

"No, I'm not. I was suprised when I saw you netbattling him." Lan sat up straight and listened intently.

"Why did he beat her up?" Yai finished her pizza and proceeded to put her dining table away. "They were netbattling together and Mayl won. Mayl kind of bragged about it and Dex punched her in the eye. She has a black eye now. I'm suprised at how strong he is for being such a glutton."

Lan got up. He was angry. He couldn't believe Dex would do such a thing! He was annoying sometimes, but he never resorted to brute force when he was frustrated. And he wondered why Dex would beat up Mayl of all people. He thought Dex had a crush on Mayl, then he again, he was probably wrong.

"I'm going to Mayl's house after school. Are you coming?" Yai shook her head "I would, but I can't. My doll is infected with viruses and I need to go delete them."

Lan picked up his lunch box and walked back to the school. "Poor Mayl..." he thought, then gritted his teeth "Poor Dex when I'm through with him!" Lan would never challenge Dex to a fight, but he was sure he could think of different methods.


	4. Not exactly a gallant Knight

I've noticed that some people have asked me to space out my dialogue more, I think that can be arranged.

This may be a little while before I update again, so I hope you enjoy these 2 more chapters.

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Lan sped home after he finished school. He was going slower than usual because he was going home with extra homework for Mayl, but he ran as fast as he could. When he reached the door he knocked and a fat jolly looking maid answered.

"Hello!" she answered "Who might you be?" Lan looked quizzically at her, he didn't know there was a maid in the house.

"I'm Lan, who are you?" "Oh, I'm just the maid!" she answered briskly "Do you need something?"

"Well no actually, I want to see Mayl... is that okaAY!!!" she had him by the arm and was dragging him down the hallway.

"Well it's about time!" she said as she bustled along "She's been waiting for you all day! What sort of a sweetheart is that?"

"Sweetheart!" yelled Lan "Now wait a minute..." he didn't have time to finish. She shoved him into an open doorway so hard he nearly fell into the room.

He looked around, he could see nobody in the room. Then he noticed, there was some stairs leading up to another floor that only had a bed and a few other things. He walked up the stairs and cautiously up to the bed

"Mayl?..." he said quietly. There was no answer. He went up to the bedside and shook her a little bit. "Mayl, are you awake?" she rolled over and opened one eye. Her other eye was painfully black and swollen. "Lan?" "It's me."

Mayl gave a little smile "Oh... I'm glad it's you." she sat up in bed a little and held an ice-pak to her eye. "How are you?" Lan looked exasperated

"How are _you_!" he asked incredulously "Not too great," she said "Dex punched me the other day and I've got a terrible head-ache, more like a migraine."

Lan nodded "Yai told me, I'm really sorry."

Mayl smiled again "Thanks Lan... did you meet the maid?" "I sure did!" said Lan "She practically threw me in here!"

Mayl gave a little laugh "She's a bit rough, but she's alright." then she looked rather sad "Lan... my parents are overseas again and, I have nobody to keep me company... would you mind staying here at the house a little while?"

"Sure." said Lan with a smile then he got the homework out of his backpack. "I brought your homework back." he said.

Mayl groaned and lay back in her bed. "Just what I need. Homework, huh!" Lan left them on a table and noticed Mayl's PET. "Have you checked your PET lately?"

Mayl bolted upright "My PET! I've totally forgotten Roll!" Lan brought the pet back to her bed and she activated it. "Roll?"

"Mayl!" cried Roll "I've been so worried!"

Lan took out his own PET and hooked it up to hers "Hi Roll! Hi Mayl!" said Megaman

"Hi Megaman!" said Mayl "I'm O.K. Roll, really I am." Roll breathed a sigh of relief. "Did you get beaten up?" asked Roll "You look like you got punched!"

"I was..." replied Mayl still holding the ice-pak to her eye.

Roll looked up at Lan "Lan, I know this is a little much to ask. But if Mayl feels good enough to go to school tomorrow, could you take care of her? I think she needs protection."

Lan scoffed a little at the request. "Um..." he thought of Dex and Mayl's black eye "Yes!" he said resolutely.

Mayl smiled "Thanks Lan." Lan blushed a little bit. "Don't mention it,"

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Lan walked with Mayl to school the next day. Mayl did feel better and she felt like going to school. When they reached the school, their teacher Ms. Mari met them outside the class room. "Good morning Lan, Mayl!" she greeted them

"Good morning Ms. Marie!" greeted Lan and Mayl Ms. Marie winced when she saw Mayl's eye "Ouch, are you O.K." "Yes," said Mayl "I'm going to watch out some more."

Ms. Mari nodded "I agree, I wouldn't want that to happen again. Lan, you've been here on time for the past couple of days, and you've been doing all your homework. Is something wrong?"

Lan smiled innocently "Nothing's wrong with me Ms. Marie, I've just been on schedule lately for a change."

Ms. Marie nodded again "Well, that's sounds like a good idea to me! Hurry on, class is almost starting.

Everyone was there, including Dex. He smiled a little bit when he saw Mayl's eye. Lan looked at him dangerously and Dex's smile disappeared.

Ms. Mari announced "Today's lesson is on netbattling, everyone jack in their PETs!" everyone got out their PETs and jacked in. "Today we'll look at virus-busting techniques." continued Ms. Mari.

Lan looked over at Mayl's PET and noticed that her virus was... Gutsman? Dex had hacked into Mayl's PET and was battling Roll.

Lan called up to Ms. Mari "Ms. Mari! Dex is trying to battle Mayl!" Dex jerked his head in Lan's direction in total fury

"DEX!" said Ms. Mari sharply. Dex tried to look innocent "I wasn't doing a thing Ms. Mari!" he said. Ms. Mari looked at him sternly

"Dex, I suggest you keep your mind on what's in front of you. Why do you want to battle Mayl? she's already hurt enough!"

Lan almost scoffed, Ms. Mari didn't know that Dex did it?

After school and the bell rang for recess everyone went to the playground again. Everyone started eating their lunches before they played on the playground. Lan and Mayl walk along the outside of the building looking for a bench.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to tell on Dex?" asked Mayl

"I'm not sure," replied Lan "But I'm glad I did it. He's been annoying these past couple of days."

"Did someone say, annoying?" they both swerved around and saw Dex standing with mischievous smile on his face. "You've come to the right place!"

Roll and Megaman could see him from their PETs. "Maybe you two should run?" suggested Megaman. Lan and Mayl did turn to run, but they were in a corner section of the wall and Dex's wide frame prevented any kind of escape.

"You'll pay for telling on me Lan." said Dex putting his fists up. "I'm gonna make you sorry, both of you!" Lan's first instinct was to make a break for it. But Mayl got behind him and held on his arm.

"Don't forget! you said you'd protect Mayl!" called Roll from the PET.

Lan felt shnuckered. He didn't exactly feel like the brave and gallant knight defending the sweet and beautiful maiden, he felt more like he was tricked. Drafted into the army just to slow down the enemy with no means of defense.

But he had made a deal, and he would try to keep it. He put up his own fists and said "Stay back Dex!" Dex laughed and advanced forward. "No way! I'm going to make mince meat out of you! Here, take this!"

Lan took a full punch in his forehead. He flew back dazed against the wall and collapsed. He heard a ringing noise that he heard when someone popped a fire-cracker near his ear. His vision was slightly blurred and his head was swimming.

Mayl backed up against the wall and yelled at Dex "How dare you hit him!" Dex merely lined up for another punch "Here's another blacky for your other eye!" he yelled.

Lan saw Dex line up and forced himself up to his feet. "Leave her alone!" he yelled.

Dex didn't notice however and when he drew his fist back, Lan grabbed it and heaved backward. Dex flew backwards and screamed like a baby when he hit the ground hard. Lan drove a kick home right into Dex's soft flabby belly. Dex felt the wind get knocked out him when Beethoven's 5th symphony was whistled through his teeth. He gasped and wheezed as he struggled back to his feet.

Lan tried to stand firm, but he was still in a daze from his previous punch. Dex saw this and ran headlong into Lan knocking him down to the ground. He held Lan down and said "Now your really going to get it!" he yelled triumphantly.

Then suddenly, his head dropped to the ground beside Lan's and his whole body rested on top of him. Mayl stood there with her PET in her hand. She had hit Dex with it and Dex was knocked out. Lan arched his back and Dex rolled off of him like a sack of sand.

Mayl helped Lan up "Are you O.K.?" she asked "I'm fine I guess." said Lan rubbing his forehead. His entire forehead was beet red.

"Thanks for helping me out there." Mayl smiled at him gratefully

"Thanks for protecting me. Your a real hero!" said Mayl. She gave him a big hug "What is this all about?" thought Lan.

"Thanks a lot Lan!" said Roll. "Go Lan!" cheered Megaman. Lan blushed at the comments "Thanks guys." he turned and looked at Dex.

He sighed regretfully. "I just wish I didn't need to fight him, he was my friend!" Mayl nodded "I know, I wonder what's gotten into him. "We'll need to take him back to the school nurse though, He'll be pretty heavy to carry!"

They somehow managed to get him to the nurses office and leave him there with a large bump on the back of his forehead.


	5. Expelled

**Spork-Queen:** I thought it was really good so far, except for a few things. ; Sorry if I sound like a nag. The first thing was sometimes it was hard to decifer between characters talking, because you didn't space out the diaolauge. (dialogue)

The other thing, which isn't really that important, is Dex isn't balck.

I'm really looking forward to the next chapter!

**Me:** You don't sound like a nag to me. I appreciate you taking the time to tell me that. I'll try to space out the dialogue a bit better. I've only played the Megaman Battle Network games. He looks black in them, at least to me he does.

Thanks for pointing out the flaws. I hope you like this chapter!

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**dbzgtfan2004:** This is a cute story. Please continue. Lan and Maylu forever.

**Me:** I'll continue, don't worry. And I agree, Lan and Mayl forever!!

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**Simply Crisis:** hey this is pretty good i liked the fight between lan and dex please continue

**Me: **I most certainly will continue! I'm glad you like the story.

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The next day turned out to be quite a suprise. Lan and Mayl walked to school and made it on time, but something was wrong, everyone looked at them in a menacing way. Some even backed away from them when they saw them.

"Something is wrong," said Lan "Something is definitely wrong..." When they got to the class room, everyone looked at them in shock. "What could possibly be wrong?" thought Lan.

Then noticed that nobody was looking at him, most were looking at Mayl. "Uh-oh," thought Lan "I've got a bad feeling that-"

"Class is about to start!" said Ms. Mari, interrupting his thoughts. Lan got down on his seat and noticed that Dex was not there.

"Must still be hurt from that PET." he thought.

Ms. Mari asked "Everyone pass your homework forward please." "Gladly..." thought Lan. Staying with Mayl didn't give him much to do, so he did his homework.

He gave Ms. Mari his homework "Thank you Lan, on time I see?" she remarked. Lan nodded "Yes, I haven't had much to do lately so, here it is!" he left the teachers desk and Mayl gave her homework to Ms. Mari. Ms. Mari blinked in suprise

"Mayl, what are you doing here?" Mayl looked taken aback "I'm here because I go to school here." she answered simply. Ms. Mari sighed and asked "You haven't been informed yet?" Lan listened from his desk as best as he could.

"Maylu Sakurai," Lan drew his breath in, Ms. Mari never used anyone's full name unless she was angry. "Please go to the principles office, now." Mayl looked back at Lan confusedly then left.

The lesson that day was math. Lan was never a genius at math, but it was easier to learn than English. It was converting fractions to decimals that day and Lan was finding it very hard. At his second problem he glanced away in boredom and notice Mayl walking by the door- in the opposite way. "Oh, boy" thought Lan "This can't be good."

He quickly excused himself saying he needed to use the restroom and walked out into the hallway. Mayl was leaning against the wall crying horribly "She acts like she's been expelled." thought Lan and walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder "What's wrong Mayl?" he asked quietly.

She looked at him, looked away again and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes "I've...been expelled!" she sobbed. "How did I guess?" thought Lan. He turned her around and asked "Why would he do a thing like that?" he asked. Mayl just handed him a note and turned her face back to the wall and kept on crying.

Lan read the note, is said:

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Sakurai."

We regret to inform you that your daughter has shown extreme violence toward one of our students. She brutally attacked another student with her PET, hitting him repeatedly on the head. This was an unprovoked display of anger. Such behavior is not acceptable here and cannot be tolerated. You must locate another school for your child.

Many regrets

(Anonymous) principle

Lan felt like tearing the paper to shreds. That Dex! He was probably fine, but he made it out like she assaulted him first-hand! "Didn't you try to talk to him?" he asked.

Mayl tried to talk in between sobs. "I tried... but.. he wouldn't-.. listen to me." Lan realized just how long he was taking and tried to make it quick.

"Mayl, I need to get back to class, but when the recess bell rings, go to the playground and wait for me there. I know the truth about you and Dex, and if anyone's going to, I'll make sure this turns out right!"

Mayl seemed to calm down and didn't cry so heavily. She took back the note and gave a little smile "Thanks Lan."

"No problem," said Lan, and hurried back to class.

He was determined to find out what was wrong with Dex, and he was absolutely was going to make sure that Mayl wasn't expelled. He would not let Dex's behavior go unpunished!

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Later when the recess bell rang, Lan made his way to the playground. On the way he met up with Yai, who had run on ahead of him and she was running back. "Lan! Lan!" she called.

He screeched to a halt "What is it?" he asked. Yai ran up to him with an angry look on her face "It's Mayl!"

Lan sucked his breath in and held it "Did she get beaten up again?" "No, but she's being brow-beaten by everyone on the playground!"

Lan ran to the playground as fast as he could and found Mayl standing against a fence covering her face and crying like before. Every kid was saying things like "What are you doing here, bully!" "What's wrong, you could hurt Dex, but you can't do anything to us?" "You're expelled get out of here, you jerk!"

Lan ran to the crowds edge and Yai ran up with him. "Hey, everybody, please be quiet!" he yelled. Nobody heard him. He tried to get in the middle of the crowd, but ended up getting elbowed in the stomach by some younger kid. He finally ran in front of the crowd and yelled "Please be quiet everyone! I have something to say!"

Nobody heard him, but they heard Yai. She walked right up to the front of the crowd and screamed out "QUIEEEEEEEET!!!" Everyone was silenced. Yai made a courteous knee "Thank you!" Lan shook his head in disgust. At least she got the crowd under control.

Lan walked over to Mayl and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and faced the crowd

"She's not suspended yet. And her "bullying" was just an act Dex put on to incriminate her. Dex was attacking both of us, he hit me first!" with that he took off his sun shield and pushed his head back, revealing his bruised forehead. "And she hit him in defending me. We were acting in plain self-defense. Now I suggest you all shut up and go about your business or..."

He thought of what he had to say that would happen "Or that person is going to have to answer to me."

Needless to say, there were bigger kids in the crowd. But nobody wanted to get into a hand-to-hand fight. Lan looked particularly dangerous right then.

The crowd dispersed and He asked Mayl "Mayl, are you O.K.?" Mayl had stopped crying and she smiled endearingly at him "Lan..." she said gave him a hug "Oh Lan... you're so sweet!"

Yai smirked. Lan wondered what this was all about and he pried Mayl off of him. "What was that all about?" he asked "Your more dense than I thought..." muttered Megaman. Mayl looked at him incredulously. "You were very nice to me just now!" she said "I'm very happy, I like you Lan!"

Lan was stunned. He had been very dense in the past, he hardly noticed that Mayl actually _liked _him. He blushed furiously and looked down with a tiny little smile. "Well, uh... I just wanted to make sure that nobody hurt you that's all..." he mumbled. Yai tapped him on the shoulder and said "Lan, it was the manly thing to do!" Lan was even more shocked. Yai never complimented anyone on anything before.

It was then that he realized just how much he really liked Mayl. He knew he wouldn't be so caring if he wasn't. He would still go on making sure she would be O.K. He stood and stared in her eyes for a while. Mayl looked beautiful even with her black eye.

He cleared his throat and regained his composure "Well, let's have lunch, I'm going to visit Dex after school."

"And when I do." he thought with a dangerous look in his eyes "He'll be really sorry."


	6. Confrontation

**Simply Crisis:** hey why is Mayl getting expelled it's dex's and whats up with him anyways? Well i hope you continue soon i wanna know whats up.

**Me:** If you didn't read the chapter clearly, I'll explain. Dex told the principle that he had been attacked by Mayl for no reason. This is not rue of course, but the principle didn't know. Mayl tried to explain to him the truth, but he wouldn't listen.

I'll continue updating as soon as the reviews come in. As I've said before, I have the whole story ready for posting. I just want to get reviews first so I know that people are reading it. Otherwise, there's no point. Thanks for the review!

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**Midnight Critic:** Well...this is good. Another Lan/Mayl fic. Keep it up!

Never figured that Dex would cover his tracks so deviously. I look forward to seeing how he cracks. I'm hoping for a good fight, if it comes up.

**Me:** I'm glad you like this story. I'll keep it up, don't worry. You'll need to read this chapter to find out what happens.

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Lan usually let himself in to Dex's house, but today he **really** let himself in. He kicked the door open and stomped up the stairs to Dex's room. He flung the door open and stood in the doorway like he was about to murder Dex.

"What..." said Lan. Dex was sitting on the floor eating boxes of candy and playing an old fashioned game called "Megaman 3" "He's perfectly alright!"

Dex swerved from where he was sitting and saw Lan, with his furious look. A butterscotch disk got caught in his throat and he swallowed it. He dropped the controller and back up against the wall. Lan walked right up to him, completely unafraid.

He grabbed Dex by the collar and dragged him towards him and whispered in a menacing tone "Dex... why? Why have you done this to Mayl?" he flung Dex back against the wall and Dex hit his head on the bump he got yesterday.

Dex flattened his whole body against the wall "It- it... wasn't my fault! I don't know what your talking about-"

Lan shook his head in disgust "Oh, don't insult me. You don't need to be so afraid, I'm not going to beat you up. Yet."

Dex calmed down and sat down in a chair, stuffing a gumball in his mouth while doing so. Lan sat down in another chair facing Dex. He coolly set his feet on the table and leaned back.

"Now," he said "Let's discuss this like friends here. I don't who your friends are currently, but until I make my decision I'm going to find out what has been making you act so strangely."

Dex thought about it for a minute. He chewed a caramel thoughtfully "What makes you think that I didn't do all those things intentionally?" he asked.

Lan leaned forward slightly "Because Dex... I know you wouldn't do that sort of thing. You are my friend and I know you wouldn't act this way unless you were provoked."

Dex's face saddened. He felt ashamed. His best friend whom he had bashed in the forehead and beaten up his girlfriend was still willing to think the best of him. He scarfed down a donut and sighed. He began to speak "Lan, do you remember the last time we netbattled?" Lan nodded "Yes."

"Well... those chips I used **were **three weeks old. My Dad took away my good chips because I was doing so bad on my homework. I tried to netbattle everybody, but I kept on losing. I netbattled Mayl a few days ago and I lost again. She bragged about it and I lost my temper and hit her in the eye. I tried to netbattle her again during class, but you exposed me. I lost it again and tried to beat you and Mayl up."

Lan was finally beginning to understand. "Why can't you just do your homework and get your chips back?" To his suprise Dex stood up and stomped across the room and looked out the window.

"Because, it's not just because I'm stupid like I seem. I **am **stupid. When I was born, I had a birth-defect, and I can't think right most of the time I do my schoolwork. I can't even remember simple things like... how to spell "brain", or how to add 2 2!" Lan could detect a slight sob in his voice.

"I'm just a plain dunderhead, my Dad won't help me out because he thinks I should be able to do it on my own, birth-defect or no birth-defect."

Lan was now feeling extremely sorry for Dex. He didn't know this much about Dex, and he didn't realize how miserable he was. Dex was so good at hiding it. He walked up to the window and noticed a tear trickling down Dex's face.

"Hey... I'm sorry Dex" he said soothingly "I never knew anything about this. If I'd known about this sooner..." Dex rubbed a fist across his face.

"Sniff well... I'm really sorry for beating you up Lan. I've been losing control of myself lately." Lan patted him on the back.

"Well Dex, I think I can help you." said Lan with an encouraging smile "I'm no genius, but if you ever need help with your homework, call on me. I'm at your disposal, we'll see if we can get your battle chips back." Dex looked at Lan and smiled lightly.

"Thanks little Doofus" he said and held out his hand "Pals?" Lan took his hand and shook it firmly "Were Pals, buddy boy!" he said with a warm smile. "But there's something that needs to be taken care of first..."

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Mayl stayed up late that night. She was leaning on some homework on her desk and contemplating the past few days events. First she had been hit in the eye, then she was attacked again and when acting in self-defense, she was expelled. She had been yelled at by all the kids on the playground. She sighed, it was not her week.

She sighed again when she thought of Lan. Lan was so nice. She believed him when he said he would regain her schooling. Lan just then entered the room. "Mayl... is something wrong with your maid?" he asked.

"Oh no, not really." said Mayl forcing a smile. "Is she taking care of you?"

"Yes but..." he sat down on the edge of her desk "She's always mentioning the fact that you're expelled, and then mumbling something about.. failure or something."

Lan wished he hadn't said anything. Mayl just looked dejected all over again. "First Dex, then Ms. Mari, then the principle, the kids at school, my own maid..." a single tear trickled from her black eye. She looked up at Lan. "Lan, aside from Yai, your my only friend left now."

Lan took her hand and clasped it in his. "Mayl, not everyone hates you." "No..." she said. Lan rubbed her hand.

"I hate to say this in your present condition," he continued "But, you did kind of ask for it."

Mayl nodded. She knew what he meant. "I didn't mean to infuriate him so much."

"I know you didn't Mayl. Dex didn't mean to blow up at you either." Mayl looked at him, her black eye almost completely opened. "You really believe Dex didn't mean to hurt me?"

"Oh, he meant to hurt you alright." said Lan "But there are reasons for his behavior that aren't entirely his fault. I went to see him today. I think I can present a convincing argument to the principal on your behalf." He let go of her hand and stood up.

Mayl asked him "Lan, why are you doing all this for me and Dex?" Lan turned and answered:

"Mayl... this is what friends are for. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive Dex. I still think the best of him and considering the circumstances, he is a great deal more miserable than you know. I consider Dex to be my best pal, and I'll do anything to clear him of complete ex-communication. And you..." he stopped suddenly.

"Yes?" asked Mayl looking deep in his eyes. Lan stood up straight "Eh- I don't want to see you get into trouble for something you didn't do. I think I can promise you full reminition for your trouble."

Mayl looked with complete wonder at him. She thought she knew so much about Lan, yet she knew so little. but she had never witnessed him act with such fervor and determination to bring peace back to his friend's relationships between each other.

"Lan..." she almost whispered and stood up. "You're very special." Lan felt blood once again rush to his face. He looked down for a moment, then said "Thank you Mayl, I'll take that as a compliment." and he left the room.

If Lan could think of any reason why he was being so helpful, it was because well...

His mind drifted back to the last few previous years and remembered every day that Mayl would wait to walk with him to school. She stood by him in every kind of dangerous situation. She was very faithful to him, and if he ever was, he was going to be now.


	7. Lan did it!

**Dragonscales:** Please continue! Im a huge Lan/maylu fan:)

**Me:** If you're a big Lan/maylu fan, then you'll like this chapter!

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**Lord Cynic:** Eh... been hiding in the shadows and reading this without dropping a line. Well, best to do this before the fanfic runs away from me. Great work on the fanfic thus far. The characters are showing great thought and concern for each other, and they possess some qualities I've never thought of up until now. Lookin' forward to the next chapter. Lord Cynic, logging out.

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Disclaimer: I own everything concerning Megaman and Capcom! Wa- ha ha ha ha! er- ahem.. not really.

I'm afraid that this is the last chapter. I'm sorry this story turned out to be so short, but I couldn't think of anythign to make it longer. It's longer than usual though, so I hope that helps.

For all you Lan + Mayl romance lovers out there, there's a nice mushy part at the end so I hope you like that!

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The next day Lan, Yai and Mayl all waited outside the school. It was the perfect time to talk to the principle. He always stayed at his office on regular days. They had seen a guard walk by and asked to see the principle and they were now waiting for him.

The guard finally returned and said "The principle will see you, but only for a little while."

He opened the gate and everyone walked through to the school. Mayl was getting more and more nervous, but she kept her faith in Lan. "This had better work." said Lan. He himself was nervous. "Mayl, do you still have that note?"

"Yes, here it is." said Mayl producing the letter from the principle. Lan took it. "I think I should have it when I go into his office." said Lan.

When they finally reached the outside of his office, Lan told everyone to stop and looked at his watch "Hmmm..." He knocked on the door "Come in!" called a voice from inside. They all came in and were suprised to see that three chairs were lined up in front of his desk. They were about five feet away. The principle saw their confused looks and smiled ever so slightly.

"I saw who you were by checking with security, heh heh- oh um, please take you seats." Yai took the one on the left, Mayl took the one in the middle and Lan took the right because there weren't any others to choose from obviously.

Yai gave Mayl's hand a squeeze "Don't worry Mayl. I'm sure we can get you back in school."

The principal didn't seem to be paying them much attention, he kept scribbling things on different papers. He was probably signing legal papers, you couldn't sign a legal paper by computer.

"Seeing Mayl here, and you Yai and Lan, I would be stupid not to assume that this has something to do with Mayl being expelled."

Lan nodded in amazement "You would assume correctly Mr. Principal." He got up from his chair and took out the note. "You wrote this I believe?" the principal looked up and nodded "Yes, I did. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Sort of, you see, Mayl didn't directly hit Dex first-hand. Do you know about Dex hitting her in the eye the last few days before?"

The principal blinked his eyes and looked a little angry. "I wasn't aware of that. Nobody reported it, How could I possibly know?"

Lan almost scoffed "Nobody reported it because they were afraid of being beaten up as well!"

"Oh" was the only reply the principal made. He started scribbling again.

Lan sighed and walked right up to the principal's desk and slammed down the note on top of his other papers.

"Mayl did not hit Dex on purpose! I was defending her when he hit me! She hit him in self-defense, look!" He brushed his hair back and revealed the bruise Dex had given him. The principal winced.

"That's a pretty big bruise!" he remarked. "But how do I know your telling the truth?" he tapped something into a computer and brought up Lan's record "You have told 13 lies in the past year and a half." He turned back to him. "You could just have easily fallen down and got that bruise, I'm still having a hard time believing your story Lan."

Lan took in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "Alright. If that's the way you take it, I'll have to bring in my one and only witness." He walked over to the door and opened it "Come in." he said. Everyone looked and saw...

Dex.

He stood in the doorway for a minute and looked around wringing his hands nervously. He walked up to the principal and said "Lan is telling the truth Mr. Principle. I did hurt them first and incriminated them later."

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The principal shook his head in amazement when Dex told him the whole story. He just leaned back in his chair "Oooh boy." Mayl looked at Dex and shook her head piteously "Poor Dex." she whispered.

Dex heard it "Spare me your pity, I have no need of it."

"By the way," said Lan "I think the teachers have been gossiping about what's been happening lately, Please have them talk about this as much as they did earlier."

The principle printed something out of the computer and handed it to Mayl. "Here you are Mayl. I offer my most sincere apologies for what has happened. I restore your place in the school."

Mayl held the note. She said nothing, but you could tell she wanted to jump for joy. "Dex, I want you to remain here. The rest of you, go." Lan patted Dex on the shoulder. "See ya later." and everyone left.

When everyone left the office. Nobody said anything. They kept walking till they got on the other side of the school gates and they all stopped walking.

Then they all jumped up and cheered "Yahoo! Yippee!" cried Mayl waving her note around. Yai smiled. Jumping about and cheering was above her, but she smiled. "What do you think will happen to Dex?" she asked.

Lan shrugged "Probably a months suspension, but I imagine he won't be punished too harshly beyond that. I'm glad I could convince Dex to come, I probably couldn't persuade him." "Yeah." agreed Mayl.

When they made their way to class later, it seemed like news traveled fast. Everyone was looking at them and nervously shuffling away. A couple of kids came up and apologized for their rude behavior.

One kid in particular said "I'm sorry for bad-mouthing you like that." Mayl nodded appreciatively. "Thanks for apologizing."

The boy looked at Lan and gave him a thumbs-up. "That was real cool beating up Dex like that."

Lan shook his head "No, Dex is a nice kid, he just lost his temper. It was not cool and Dex deserves more help than anyone."

The kid laughed aloud "Ha- ha ha! I can't believe you are saying that!" "Well then here's why..." Lan grabbed the kids collar, dragged him towards him and whispered in his ear. The kids expression slowly changed from humor to shock, then shame. He backed away "Gee... I didn't know that."

The kid walked away and told some other kids about it. They looked sad when they heard the story and they told other kids. "I think this will work." said Lan.

Suddenly the bell rang "Oops!" they all cried and ran like mad for their class. They noticed on the way that Dex was leaving the building looking disappointed, but relieved.

Some kids were passing Dex and looked at him. Some with disgusted looks on their faces, but also some with pitiful looks. Dex just looked away. Lan smiled "I think that the kids won't be too harsh with him after all."

After school that day. Mayl and Lan walked home to find a group of kids at Dex's apartment. Dex looked over their heads and smiled at Lan "Thanks he said. Lan saluted and walked by to hear the kids saying "Say, do you need help with your homework? How about a calculator? If you need help I can..."

Lan smiled triumphantly and when they reached Mayl's house, he leapt in the air and cheered "Yes! Everything is turning out right now!" He landed on the ground "Dex is not going to be a little-I mean, big-brat to everybody. You got your place back in school!" he smiled. He stopped jumping about and stood trying to get his breath back.

Mayl giggled a little at his behavior. "Lan you really did it!" .

She looked at Lan again and suddenly almost felt like crying all over again. He had done it. When she was hit in the eye, he was there to comfort her. When she was attacked, he protected her. And when she was being insulted by the school, he was there to defend her. And when she was expelled... he got her back to school again. _And_ he had brought peace back to everyone's relationships with Dex.

Lan saw her and backed away. It was coming and he knew it. "I'm glad we were able to get you back in school- augh!" Mayl locked her arms around his neck.

"Lan, I love you!" She cried and tried to, well shall we say, perform a little action. But he jerked away and ran. "Stay away!" he yelled. They ran around the block. Lan began running out of breath. If someone was going to get, you know what, he would be the one performing that -little action-. It would be best if he did it first.

He jumped behind a dumpster and waited. Mayl came running up and panting heavily. "Lan?" she said looking around "Lan where are you?" Lan looked around the corner. She walked up to the dumpster and looked in. "Not there." she said and looked around. "Come on Lan!" she called "I just wanted to..." she stopped and sighed. She started to walk away again.

Lan crept up behind her. "BOO!" he yelled. Mayl spun around "Eek!" she screamed. Lan laughed really hard. Mayl glared at him. "Don't ever do that again!" she said.

Lan just leaned against the wall shaking with laughter "Hee he he... sorry, I couldn't resist it." Mayl waited for him to calm down before she spoke again.

"Lan, I want to say something.. I have to say this." she said. Lan calmed down "What is it?" he asked.

Mayl drew in a deep breath. "I just wanted to say thank you Lan. I never knew this much about you. You truly are a special friend. You got me back in school and Dex won't be considered low down. I don't know what we'd do without you. I don't know what **I** would do without you. You helped him out, and you helped me out. Thank you."

She began walking away again.

Lan's eyes filled with tears at the compliments he just recieved. He suddenly felt ashamed at hiding from her.

He walked up to her and took her by the shoulders. He gently turned her around and gave her a kiss. She almost fainted. Now she was the one who was shy, and Lan was the bolder one.

He let go. "Mayl...I..." he began. He had a lump in his throat. "Uh... your welcome. I'm sorry I ran from you, I was a little shocked... I- I love you too Mayl."

"Lan... oh Lan" was all she could say. They both stood there for a minute just smiling at each other and Mayl gave him a kiss back.

"Ahem!" said a voice. Mayl and Lan jumped and looked behind them. There was Yai "I don't want to interrupt such a romantic scene, but I was wondering if anybody wants to go to Dippin-Dots for ice cream?"

"Alright!" said Lan and Mayl in unison. Lan and Mayl clasped their hands together and they all walked off to celebrate.

THE END

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